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How to make money online with freelance photo editing
June 06, 2025
Freelance photo editing is a great way to make a living. This is low-stress, creative work that you can complete while having the TV on in the background. Freelance photo editing also lends itself perfectly to working from home. This is ideal in the current situation we find ourselves in!
Despite all this, freelance photo editing is in high-demand and can pay well. In this post, we will look at how to become a freelance photo editor, or simply use this skill to earn a little extra cash on the side.
What does freelance photo editing involve?
As a photo editor, your job will be to beautify photos and images on behalf of companies and other clients. This is achieved via the use of digital tools. Often, this will amount to airbrushing, cropping, color correction, color grading, or enhancing. However, you may also be given more creative tasks depending on the project.
That said, some extremely talented photo editors are capable of creating entirely new images using a variety of techniques and effects. In other cases, they might use filters and other strategies to create exciting, dynamic visuals.
Why companies need freelance photo editing
To understand why this is needed, it can be useful to consider the perspective of the client. Companies require high-quality images as a way to market their products, services, and brands. You are far more likely to trust a company website if it uses high-quality images thatdon’tlook like they were taken on a smartphone.
See also:How to become a video editor online
Unfortunately, even with the best cameras in the world, photography alone can only achieve so much. To really reach that professional standard, photo editing is almost always required.
Companies also often need to create unique images using photography: whether that’s an album or book cover, packaging for a product, or a piece of advertising.
And of course, there are scenarios where members of the public need freelance photo editing. This may be to restore old photos, to perfect those wedding snapshots, or just for a bit of fun.
What skills do photo editors need?
So, what skills should you develop for freelance photo editing?
The industry standard when it comes to photo editing is Adobe Photoshop. This is an extremely powerful piece of software, that provides countless tools for all the processes we discussed earlier. Photoshop is so broadly used in fact, that the term “photoshopping” is often used generically to refer to editing!
See also:What is the gig economy? Why the future of work is online (and how to prepare)
That said, Photoshop can be expensive. If you are looking for a cheaper option, alternatives like Corel PaintShop Pro will provide an excellent starting point to learn the ropes (note that the UIs are very different, which can make transitioning between tools somewhat jarring). Adobe Lightroom is useful for quick touch-ups. GiMP is perhaps the best piece of free software.
Other software for freelance photo editing
While Photoshop will provide almost all the features you need for pure photo-editing, it can be useful to master additional skills. Specifically, you’re able to benefit from learning design and illustration tools such as Adobe Illustrator or even something like ProCreate. This way, you will be able to combine your photo editing and image-creation skills to create a wider range of different final products.
See also:How to become a digital artist
Training and certifications
The good news is that you don’t need any specific qualifications or certifications in order to become a freelance photo editor. With that said, Adobe Certification and other similar certifications can only help when it comes to finding freelance photo editing jobs.
See also:What is Adobe certification?
More important is your portfolio and list of clients. That means you need to develop the right skills to promote yourself. Taking a number of online courses can help you to develop these skills.Android Authorityreaders can access a number of heavily discounted online courses that will teach you the basic skills you need and take you all the way up to professional level.
For example, beginners can getPhotoshop for Beginnersfor just $25. This course, usually valued at $149, provides 7+ hours of content and teaches all the fundamental skills you need to start editing photos professionally.
Those wanting to take their skills further should check outAdobe Photoshop & Editing Mastery Bundle. This bundle of 5 courses would normally cost $306 but you’re able to get it for just $31. Here, you’ll learn a number of specific skills, including how to work with black and white photography!
How to find photo editing jobs
Now you have the skills you need, all that is left is to find the work. You can do this in a number of ways. The easiest way to find freelance photo editing jobs is by looking at freelance sites likeUpWorkandFreelancer.com.
It can take a while to gain traction on these sites and there is undoubtedly an “art” to it. However, with a little work, you’ll find this to be a powerful and simple way to find paying clients. Check our guide to findother great freelancing sites.
Remember: you will often be able to findmorework if you are able to branch out and offer a combination of creative skills.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to work as a “gun for hire” but can “productize” your service. For example, sites like Fiverr will allow you to post services with set specifications and prices. For example:
This is a great way to focus on the types of work you enjoy/are good at. At the same time, this lets you more easily predict the amount of time you will spend on a given project.
Photo editors can also find work through a personal website if they are able to promote themselves through social media or a blog. Or why not contact a company directly with an example of your work and what you can do for them?
Whatever the case, there are a lot of ways to make money from freelance photo editing. If this is something you have a knack for, why not turn that skill into a hustle?
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